We love animals, just the same way that we love other aspects of life. Some animals have grown to be our pets and friends, living in the same houses with us, others, we raise in our barns for food and other domestic purposes. The wild animals are left in the forests or caged in the zoo for recreational purposes. This yields money for the society. The dog especially plays an important role in the Igbo households. It provides adequate security for its Igbo family owners by barking and alerting them that an intruder is at hand. Sometimes the dog fights off the intruder alone, other times it gets help from its owners.
Nkọwa (Introduction) The Igbo language is one of the major languages in Nigeria, spoken predominantly by the Igbos in eastern part of the country. There are currently 7 Igbo speaking states namely Imo, Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi, Abia, Delta, Rivers. Though each state has its own variation of Igbo, there is a central Igbo spoken and understood by all. Igbo is a Kwa language of the Benue-Congo subfamily of the Volta-Congo and Atlantic-Congo branches of the Niger-Congo language family. This language course will focus on the central Igbo and point out variations when necessary.
Nkọwa (introduction) Igbo is a tone language just like many African languages. This means that some Igbo words look alike in their spellings but have different sounds and meanings. These words can be distinguished using tone marks - “ákàrá údà” in writing or voice pitches in speed. For example, the word “akwa” can mean many different things when given different tone marks or pronounced in different voice pitches. àkwá (low/high) – egg àkwà (low/low)– bed ákwà (high/low) – cloth ákwá (high/high) – cry The above words might seem difficult to grasp and articulate but with the use of the tone marks and the different voice pitches, a native speaker will be able to differentiate them easily. The key is consonant practice. Humming and whistling are also helpful when marking the tones. Often the tone marks are located above vowels,and vowel look alikes.
Nkọwa (introduction) Generally in Igboland, when people meet, they want to be comfortable with one another. They ask of one’s name, occupation, residence, nationality, parents’ names, nicknames, and other questions that come to mind. People usually do not ask about age, marriage and status but often times people voluntarily talk about their status.
Different greeting patterns are used for the different times of the day.
NKọwa (Introduction) Greetings are important aspects of Igbo culture. They are ice breakers and establish cordial relationships with others. These come in different forms and on different occasions. Greetings for saying goodbye, welcome, thanks, for resting, for illness or injury, recovery, for having fun, for saying hello and for different times of the day. Greetings can also be long or short depending on the situation. They can be extended to include inquiries about family, business, work, vacation, school, etc. It is generally the Igbo custom that the young or a subordinate initiates greeting as a sign or mark of respect. A young male bows while a female kneels half way. Among male members of the same age group, greetings usually start with a handshake. On the other hand a young male cannot stretch out his hand for a handshake with older male unless asked to do so by the older male. For females of the same age group, it is just “hello” (“kedụ?”) with the response “ọ di mma,” and sometimes a warm embrace. Females are usually not expected to greet with a handshake. However, trend is beginning to change in modern Igbo society. Females now shake hands when greeting males. Greeting in Igbo can also be entered into with people you wish to salute but see at a distance. Upon seeing the people, one would wave his hands and say “daalụ nụ o or ndewoo nụ o.” Hugging also occurs when two friends or relations meet after a period of absence and the greetings “nnọọ” or “ị lọla” goes simultaneously with the hugging exercise
Fractions in Igbo are first expressed by saying the denominator first and then the nominator. E.g. 2/10 is said as “iri chịpụ abụọ”. The exception is ½ which is simply “ọkara”.Percentages in Igbo are also written the same way as fractions. A percentage is a fraction with the denominator as 100. Therefore, 2% is 2/100 which is written as “nari chịpụ abụọ”. Frequency indicates the number of times something occurs. We use this by simply putting the word “ugboro” before the number. Note : For “once” or “one time,” the number comes before the frequency and reverses for the rest.
Igbo numbers play a significant role in Igbo language. One basically cannot speak the language without encountering these numbers in one way or the other. These numbers can be cardinal or ordinal. Since Igbo is a dialectical language, so are th numbers.In this unit, we will take a look at the numbers and their dialectical counterparts, fractions, percentages and frequency. Naira (N) is the official Nigerian currency. Kobo is the coins.
The Igbos have two types of families. These are the nuclear family (ụmụnne) and the extended family (ụmụnna). The nuclear family is made up of the father, mother and children. This family is an adaptation from the western culture. This type of family is now more recognized and has taken precedent over the extended family among Christians, educated and city dwellers perhaps due to economic constraints. The nuclear family is what comes to mind among the Igbos at the mention of the word family(ezi na ụlọ). The extended family consists of one father, multiple mothers and children. Cousins, uncles, aunts, nieces and nephews fall under this category. The extended family still plays a dominant role especially in the rural areas as a result of the desire to keep a particular lineage. The most important feature of the Igbo family is that all children belong to the father but only the male children inherit their father. The notion being that the female children are suppose to get married and get out of the family. Members of the same family, be it nuclear or extended are believed to trace their lineage to one ancestor and as such do not marry each other. It is a taboo. There is always a close tie between the members of the nuclear family and the extended family. There is no igbo vocabulary for cousins, uncles, aunts but a simple analogy of the relationship.
In the days of our great great grandfathers, the Igbos told time by looking at the direction of the sun and listening to the crows of the cock. There are four main divisions within the day. These are morning (ụtụtụ), afternoon (ehihie), evening (uhuruchi or mgbede), and night (abali or anyasị) depending on the dialect. Other times in the day are dawn (isi ụtụtụ), midday (etiti ehihie) midnight (etiti abalị/anyasị). Telling time takes two forms—to (na-aga) and past (gafee).
Just as memorizing the igbo alphabets are crucial for the beginner, so is memorizing the igbo names for the human body parts. Down the road in this class, we will be talking about visiting the hospital so it is vital to talk about the body parts so that we can be able to tell the doctor about our pains. There are certain parts of the body which are not openly talked about or their names mentioned in public so as not to be branded as profane.. Idiomatic expressions are used for these parts.
Nkọwa (introduction) Like most groups, the Igbos have adopted the Western seven day week. But for them, Monday is the first day of the week(“ụbọchi mbụ na izuụka”) and Sunday is the last day of the week. (ụbọchị asaa na izuụka”.) The days of the week are very essential to the Igbos because each of these days has a market day attached to it. Nevertheless, in talking about the days of the week, we simply translate them based on the number of the days of the week e.g, “ụbọchị mbụ na izuụka (first day of the week) = Monday, ụbọchị abụọ na izuụka (second day of the week ) = Tuesday.
Life is full of ups and downs, activities and actions. This minute we are doing this, the next, we are doing the other. Igbos are known for their hard work and dedication in all their endevours, be it daily or otherwise. Here, we will take a look at our every day routine and some of the Igbo verbs since they are part of our daily routines and chores.
Nkọwa (Introduction) Temperatures in Nigeria vary with season. The weather is really hot but rarely humid. This makes it very comfortable even when it is hot. There are two main seasons. The dry season (oge ọkọchị) and the rainy season (oge udu mmiri).The rainy season is from May to August. The dry season is approximately from September to April. November through March is very very dry and the period is called harmattan period “oge ụgụrụ”. The wind blowing during this period is dry and dusty and makes the body very dry.
Introduction (Nkọwa) When we meet people the first thing we want to do is to get to know our acquantainces. For instance, we would be interested in finding out their names, where they live, and where they come from. We also reciprocate by telling the same information to our acquantainces. In this unit, we are going to engage in a dialogue about people’s residences and nationalities.
We have learned how to conjugate verbs in order to make sentences of affirmation. In this unit, we are going to learn how to construct sentences in the present, past, and future tenses. Finally, here we will talk about making plans for the future.
In Igbo land, we have different kinds of professions. Majority of the people in the rural areas are farmers. Some are fishermen, traders, goldsmiths, blacksmiths, locksmiths, drivers, dressmakers, etc. The educated ones in the cities are doctors, lawyers, engineers, typists, secretaries, treasurers, etc. Here, we will take a look at some of the professions that the Igbos engage in.
Our homes, we say is our abode. In Igbo, we say “ebe onye bi ka ọ na awachi”(where you live is your comfort). We do everything possible to feel comfortable in our homes. We have a lot of household items, some in large quantities, others in small quantities. In this lesson, we will learn the Igbo names of these items, Igbo noun formation and classification.
We love animals, just the same way that we love other aspects of life. Some animals have grown to be our pets and friends, living in the same houses with us, others, we raise in our barns for food and other domestic purposes. The wild animals are left in the forests or caged in the zoo for recreational purposes. This yields money for the society. The dog especially plays an important role in the Igbo households. It provides adequate security for its Igbo family owners by barking and alerting them that an intruder is at hand. Sometimes the dog fights off the intruder alone, other times it gets help from its owners.
Food and food preparation is an essential part of Igbo culture. In some cases, an Igbo host offers special food to his guest as a sign of warm welcome. There are some foods that are particular to the Igbos, and are prepared in a particular way. Other foods are prepared and served on special occasions. Among the Igbos, the most common meals are “fufu” and “ofe”. Fufu is prepared from cassava and eaten with any kind of soup. If an Igbo person eats any other food for dinner that is not fufu, he will say that he has not eaten and is still waiting for his food. Other common foods includes yam, plantain, cocoyam, maize, etc and occasionally rice. They eat a lot of vegetables grown in their farms and gardens. Most Igbos are hunters and fishermen, so their foods also includes meat and fish. In Igbo land, the food habits have changed as a result of their contacts with the western world. A lot of Igbo restaurants now serve western foods as well as the traditional foods. In this unit, we will take a look at the different types of Igbo foods and how some are prepared.
Buying and selling is an essential part of the Igbo tradition. The Igbo market is not a “one price tag” says it all, it is a bargaining place. People beat the prices down until they get the right price. Igbos are generally known as farmers and craftsmen. They plant and reap their produce. Most of these produce or products end up in the market where they are sold at a reasonably bargained price.
Giving and asking for directions have become part of our daily lives. It’s either one is giving or asking for directions. Somebody can give or ask for directions when one gets lost, creating ideas, building crafts, or other aspects of life.
Among the Igbos, when someone is sick, it also literally affects his relatives. That is why it is said that sickness is not only a physical occurrence but also a social fact. Individuals who do not show concern for a sick friend or relative are usually seen as being bad. Sometimes relatives pull resources together to help a sick relative seek medical treatment. In the rural areas, where most people have limited access to hospitals, they rely heavily on traditional medicine for their health needs. Some people in the urban areas still consider traditional treatment as the first option when they are sick. It is not uncommon for people to combine the two systems of healing when they are sick. Others resort to religious sects for healing
The Igbos are communal and hospitable in nature. These attributes make it vey common to ask for assistance, permission and granting permission to do something. People will voluntarily want to give assistance to someone who needs help or people who are in distress. There is the need to help each other to survive. If peoples schedule does not permit them to help, they will ask someone else to help. Children usually help the elderly in doing certain chores. Like fetching water from the stream for them. It is rude for a child to see an elderly doing something and not offer to help. The elderly may report such behaviour to the child’s parents. To refuse assistance is seen as contempt and not showing appreciation for an assistance provided is equally offensive and disrespectful.